Instrumentality Loopers
by BrokenChosenofEva
Summary: Loop Theater AU. Asuka wakes up on Over-The-Rainbow, her memories of her last three lives intact, and finds herself stuck in a looping reality. Forced to relive her life til whatever "end" finds her, Asuka adapts to the various situations she puts herself in or wakes up to. [ideas are welcome. Not part of the Established Looper Canon.]
1. Chapter 1

**Neon Genesis Evangelion**  
**Evangelion Loop Theater!**  
**By BrokenChosenofEva**

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**0**

Title: Start the Show  
Prompt: various  
Word Count: 1.7k+  
Rating: T  
Summary: Time Loop AU. Asuka wakes up back at the beginning, and in wondering why she is back _again_ she finds a small book only she can read with information on "Looping" and revealling she is her universe's "Anchor".

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion [or any of the other shows that pop up]. **This is in no way connected to the established Infinite Loops Universe. This is only for my own amusement, those who read it, and those who send in ideas.**

Notes: I decided, since I loved reading "Log Horizon Loops" by **Mivichi**, that I wanted to write my own "Loops" series. Not sure how often this will be updated, and I am willing to take ideas from reviewers [I'll tag the source at the top of each section that came from someone else].

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.1.a.

Watching Touji close his eyes, a smile on his face as he exhales one last time, Asuka smiles through the tears in her own eyes. She lets the tears fall now, having held them back while Touji still looked at her, not wanting her love's last sight to be her crying.

They'd managed nearly eighty years together, through all the ups and downs of life since the Angel Wars. They'd watched Mana and Kyo grow, marry, and have children of their own. They'd seen their friends have their own families, and laughed and cried beside them through their own ups and downs.

But everything was slowing now, the clock on the wall no longer noticeable though it's endless ticking had been nearly deafening earlier.

This was how she'd imagined it, or one way. After the Angel Wars her vision of dying had switched from a glorious battle to simply falling asleep with the one she loved nearby.

Taking a deep breath, Asuka closed her eyes, and simply fell asleep.

0o0o0o0

And woke up to the gentle shifts of a ship at sea, barely noticeable unless one had been on a solid surface moments before.

Eyes snapping open, Asuka's first thought was a simple grumble of "Not _again_!", followed by bolting upright and looking around her cabin on the Over The Rainbow.

_This is _not_ how I imagined heaven..._

0o0o0o0

.1.b.

_Well, here goes nothing... again..._ Leaping down to the fight deck, Asuka strode across to Misato and the Three Stooges. Ignoring the "older" woman's greeting she grabbed Touji by his coat and planted a hard kiss on his lips. While he, and the others, were staring open-mouthed she grabbed Shinji's hand.

"We have somewhere to be, and I don't want to be caught flat-footed." she growled, "Misato, get that emergency power socket set up."

0o0o0o0

.1.c. [by **How-not-to-do-something**, minor edits with permission]

Asuka was on the verge of losing her temper, simply because Shinji kept freaking out about how she was a time traveler -a Looper, baka!- and had met, fallen in love, and married at least a dozen different times. Sighing, she regretted telling him anything about the Loops.

Though, she had to admit it had a certain level of amusement to it...

0o0o0o0

.1.d.

Waking up in her cabin again, Asuka grabbed a book and threw it at the door.

"Note to self: Distracted Shinji is _useless_!"

Then the fact she didn't have any books in the cabin registered. Standing, Asuka picked up the small leather-bound book and flipped it open.

"Your Guide to Looping?" she turned to the next page, "A guide to being the Anchor for a Looping Reality, the responsibilties and limits there of. What the hell is this?"

Turning to the chapter listing, her incredulity grows. Titles like "Looping and You" and "Things to NEVER do" where there, along with slightly more helpful sounding ones like "How to remain sane in endless repeats".

While not exactly a stranger at this point to repeating "history" having been through the "Original" lifetime and two different "repeats" where she'd lived for years, the idea of actually being in a looping reality was a bit much even if this was her "second" loop. Trapped in the same year, give or take, for an unknown length of time?

Laying down after locking her door, Asuka focused on remaining calm and centered even when she heard banging and yelling at her door accompanied by the ship shifting violently. Next she knew, her room started to crumple around her before she woke up _again_ in the exact same place.

_Strike three_, she thought, throwing herself out of the bunk and moving out of the cabin, _Let's make it to Tokyo-3 this time..._

0o0o0o0

.1.e. [prompt "Convincing Rei" from **How-not-to-do-something**]

While convincing Shinji had been relatively easy -the boy was far to trusting, if she was honest with herself-, getting _wondergirl_ to believe she was stuck in a time loop was challengeing almost to the point of pulling her hair out.

Nearly every argument she had "proving" her tale was countered by some obvious argument against it. Ocham's Razor worked against her in this case, as Rei's points were valid. Yes, she could have hacked the Magi for her knowledge, or simply gained it from Kaji or even Misato once Asuka had moved in with the raven-haired woman.

After an even dozen Loops spent trying to convince Rei, Asuka gave up for the time being. Especially when in the last loop she had been so pissed she had accessed her Looper abilities to get her Angel heritage so she could stomp Israfel bare-handed, and was then captured and "questioned" until Third Impact had triggered another reset.

Looking back at the beginning of the next loop, she wondered why she hadn't tried that sooner to convince Rei, then realized the Nephilim girl would simply say she was an Angel and write off _that_ argument as well.

0o0o0o0

.1.f.

Asuka glared down the two boys accompanying Shinji, the timid girl between the two oddly unbothered, and watched as the otaku wilted instantly and the Osakan struggled to keep his bravado and stubbornly refused to look away.

Though that may have been because Asuka was a 5'10" wiry male and had yet to even glance at her during this staredown of "alpha males".

This was perhaps her rudest awakening thus far, and she had nearly missed the arrival of Misato and the others if not for Kaji stopping by to remind her. She silently swore that whoever had screwed up reality would pay for this if she ever found them.

0o0o0o0

.1.g. [by **how-not-to-do-something**. Edits with permission]

This was beyond embarrassing! Never in her lives could she recall such indignaty as how she found herself now: Clag in a filly, colourful dress -at least it was patterned much like her EVA had been-, she floated, _floated_, above the deck of the Over-the-Rainbow -oh, irony, how I hate you- while Misato called over her small headset to use her "special move" and finish the Angel.

At least the Angel was suitably digusting looking compared to "normal", perhaps some cosmic counter to how disgustingly "cute" she now looked.

She wasn't sure she'd ever felt so mad in her lives, but she calmed herself and mentally dug through this reset's memories for the words and, sighing to release the last of her anger, called out:

"Magical Girl EVA Two, Asuka! MAR'S HAMMER OF JUSTICE!"

And cracked the Angel's core in a sinlge blow, sending the creature down into the sea.

Satisfied, she lands and with a flash of colourful light returned to her normal sundress. _I need a shower_.

0o0o0o0

.1.h.

"Sohryu, what do you think of this dress?" Rei asked, holding up a somewhat frilly, pale blue dress for her redheaded friend to inspect.

Asuka flinched, though few would catch the twitch of her head and shoulders, at the sight of the dress.

"Not your style, Wondergirl, And no way am I wearing something like that again..."

Rei arched a brown eyebrow above her green eyes at the comment, her dyed-lavender hair almost hanging almost far enough to cover the expression, before shrugging and returning the dress to the racks so she could look for something else.

Aside from this excursion with Rei, Asuka was glad for this completely mundane reset. No Angels, no magical abilities, just "slice-of-life" with her mother and "childhood friend" Shinji here in Tokyo.

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A/N: This will be ongoing as I get ideas, both my own and others. If you have a prompt or paragraph just send it to me in a PM. If you don't have an account, just leave your idea in the reviews and I'll credit it as "anonymous".

Sorry for the long note, I'll trim future ones down a little.

0o0o0

1.c This has very little editing, just enough to flow and I added the last line.

1.e I hope **how-not-to-do-something** likes what I did with their prompt.

1.g This was a hilarious idea, the original sentence sent to me by them was "She cried out in terror: Asuka had expected to come back during the sixth angel battle, and she had, but instead of being in an Eva, she wore a frilly colorful dress, like something out of a magical girl manga, and was being told to hit that thing with her 'special move'." I hope you like how I expanded on that, we might see that "reality" again at some point for some more laughs. Sailor Asuka anyone? XD

0o0o0

Timeline, as much as there is one:

a: After the end of "NWYBF"  
b, c, and d: "b" is around a dozen resets after the "start", with the others falling right on it's heels.  
e: This covers several resets, starting several resets after "d".  
f: "Reality is maleable during loops, do not expect to always face the same situations", and Asuka recieved a somewhat traumatic Awakening. Total Loops thus far: 40  
g: "insult to injury" as they say. Loop: 41  
h: Vacation Loop, without having to "jump ship" and let "nature" take its course. Loop: 43? Yes, that means Asuka is around 50yrs old, give or take a few, since she does track time to some extent. She's rather proud of how good she looks for being so old. XD


	2. Chapter 2

**Neon Genesis Evangelion**  
**Evangelion Loop Theater!**  
**By BrokenChosenofEva**

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Title: [Continued]  
Prompt: various  
Word Count:  
Rating: T  
Summary: Time Loop AU. Asuka wakes up back at the beginning, and in wondering why she is back _again_ she finds a small book only she can read with information on "Looping" and revealling she is her universe's "Anchor".

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion [or any of the other shows that pop up]. This is in no way connected to the established Infinite Loops Universe. This is only for my own amusement, those who read it, and those who send in ideas.

Notes: This one is considerably longer, and hopefully you all enjoy it. Not sure how often this will be updated, and I am willing to take ideas from reviewers [I'll tag the source at the top of each section that came from someone else].

Shout out to **Leviticus Wilkes**, and their RWBY tribute to Monty Oum called "In Passing, We Achieve Immortality".

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2.a.

"Sohryu."

Something about Rei's tone, the inflection and hint of curiosity most would miss unless they'd spent years around the girl -which Asuka had- caught the redhead's attention instantly.

"Yes, Wondergirl?" she rolled her head to spot the blunette, Shinji softly snoring opposite Rei from Asuka.

"Do you remember the First Time?"

While the Guide had mentioned the potential for others to Awaken -Asuka had never taken the book seriously on that matter, especially after 50 years, give or take-, she was still annoyed at how surprised she felt at the thought that Rei had joined her in Reality's "acid trip".

"What do you mean, exactly?" first she needed to be absolutely sure, "Give me something to go on."

"Matariel should have been more... complicated to defeat." the Nephilum girl spared a glance at Shinji to insure he slept, "And I... do not anticipate the thought of facing Armasael again."

"I remember a lot more than that." sighing, Asuka sat up and faced Rei as the girl matched her movements, "I'm really disgusted with how stubborn and logical you can be. You've no _idea_ how many times I tried to convince you I'm trapped in a loop."

"This is not your first..."

"No." Asuka grimaced, hearing the hesitance in Rei's voice, "This is... something like my sixtieth loop...? They get a bit hard to tell apart sometimes."

The only sign of shock on Rei's face was a widening of her eyes, before she closed them and took a deep breath.

"Gonna be ok, Wondergirl?"

"Better, if you did not smirk at my discomfort, Second."

Asuka winced at the rebuke, the blunette's frown and tone enough to tell her that she should layoff the nickname. Glancing at Shinji, Asuka snorted.

"What it is?"

"I can't decide if I should be annoyed it's _you_ that Awoke first, or glad." the German woman admitted, "I've never liked you, but Shinji tends to be useless when he knows I'm a Looper."

"He has Awoken before?" the shock behind the question was expected, but the girl turning to stare at Shinji hopefully was not.

"No, but when I started Looping I spent several of them either convincing him or trying to convince you." Asuka snorted again, "But maybe your level-headedness will be a refreshing change. I've got a book I'd like you to read. It might help."

"Th- thank you, Sohryu."

"Don't thank me, you might not like what comes next."

0o0o0o0

2.b.

One of the things Rei was glad for with the resets was she had Awoken in her apartment while Asuka and Shinji were on the Over-The-Rainbow. This was far preferable to Waking Up in Unit-One's cage during Sachiel's attack. She would prefer to avoid such pain again, falling from the gurney once was more than enough.

Which gave her pause. She had never before wished to avoid her fate, but even near the end of her first life she had begun to wish for more, so perhaps this should not be such a surprise.

The downside to this was she hadn't known Asuka was Looping with her -or that she was actually Looping herself and not in some dream from Instrumentality-, until the battle with Matariel. This severely limited how much she could alter her current circumstances.

Her one real disappointment, however, was that Shinji was not also Awake. Especially considering her first life's rapport with Asuka. Adjusting to a girl -woman- who had been one thing in her memories and a completely different person _now_ was more jarring than being in some kind of temporal 'skipping CD'. She had skipped school for three days to hide -another abnormality for her, and also troubling- in her apartment and internalize what Asuka had told her.

Not to mention the Guide book the redheaded Looper had shown her. She spent more time coming to terms with what she read than she did adapting to the knowledge of being a Looper herself.

Who in their right mind finds it acceptable to experiment with the sun?

0o0o0o0

2.c. [by **How-no-to-do-something**, very minor edits with permission]

Asuka awoke. Suppressing an old surge of weariness that came from yet another time loop, she took in her surroundings. She blinked back surprise. It was her and Touji's home, right down to the bedsheets. She examined herself for a moment, finding herself just as she was before the Loops started, though several years younger.

"Im back" she whispered excitedly, unable to stop herself even knowing it was probably another Aberrant Loop. She began to register noise, and quickly heard the shower going. Her heart leaped in her chest. The shower shut off, and she threw off the covers. In a split second she was on her feet and racing towards the bathroom door. As her hand grappled with the knob, she noticed the wood door was different. Her hand was working faster than her brain, however, and before she could dwell on the oddity she swept the door open to greet her husband.

He stood in the middle of the room, wiping his neck with a towel. His white hair still glistened with moisture. The sudden action made him stop and look at her strangely.

"Dear? Whats wrong?" Kaworu asked.

Asuka stood in the doorway, absolutely frozen. Her eye twitched as she struggled to comprehend several facts, the big ones being A) Kaworu was standing in her bathroom, and B) He called her dear. More cropped up as she realized he had just finished showering, and had only a towel. Draped over his shoulder. And was making no move to cover himself. Minor problems abounded as well, such as he was STANDING IN HER BATHROOM, AND CALLED HER DEAR.

This Loop's memories settled in, but were completely ignored.

He chuckled. "Well if you want to, we better be quick, I have to be at work soon. Dear?" he asked, his suggestive comment falling flat as Asuka opened her mouth and took a deep breath.

Her scream was heard from eight blocks away.

0o0o0o0

2.d.

Rei had cornered her with an intense stare as soon as she could after Asuka had left the Over-The-Rainbow, the redhead still in her plugsuit and stinking of LCL. The smell was of no concern to her, Asuka knew, the Nephilum girl having essentially lived in the stuff her whole life.

"Was there a reason you chose the time you did to completely disrupt my time with my own husband last Loop?" while most everyone else would miss it, Asuka was not most people and therefore heard the tint of annoyance to the blunette's voice.

"Kaworu was in my house and naked, basically asking me to have a 'quicky'." it might not have been many Loops, but Asuka could appreciate Rei's bluntness and matched it with her own.

"So instead of letting the memories settle, as _you_ and the Guide instructed, you reacted." Rei's intense stare switched to a glare, or as much as she ever showed, "I would find it hard to accept you, an 'experienced' Looper, would forget such advice, but then I must recall this _is_ you am forced to interact with."

"Watch your mouth, Wonderg- wait, you were married?" Asuka couldn't recall Rei even dating anyone last Loop.

Rei blinked, her cheeks turning a light pink and her gaze dropping. Now Asuka was curious.

"Seriously, Rei, I may not like you very much Awake, but in that Loop we were old friends. Who was it?"

"I would prefer not to say."

"You know I can read you like a book..." Asuka pushed, "I'll catch you looking with wistful eyes and I'll figure it out. Just tell me, Wondergirl."

"No." inwardly, Rei smirked. Asuka had told her of a few of the times she'd had fun toying with others using her foreknowledge, and she wanted to see how her companion reacted when she did figure it out. Possibly an amusingly embarrassing scene at school?

0o0o0o0

2.e.

Maybe letting Asuka catch her eyeing Touji had been a mistake. Rei had not realized, as the German woman had not told her, that they could call on abilities gained in previous loops.

She idly wondered how long before she would stop wincing whenever she saw a hammer, glad that this loop had Asuka once again with her chosen spouse and therefore distracted from further antagonizing her.

0o0o0o0

2.f. [inspired by **Tasermon's Partner**]

Asuka fought the urge to strangle Kaji as the teen version of the man sat in the passenger seat and tried to flirt with her, the _boy_ obviously ignoring that fact she was nearly old enough to be his mother.

How did she _ever_ consider him the pinnacle of manliness in the First Timeline?

At least Rei was awake this reset, perfectly settled into her place as Head of Section 1. Where Asuka and Misato had traded places, Rei and Ritsuko had switched as well. At least having Shinji as commander wasn't so bad, but having this Life's Touji be on the other side of the planet babysitting a teen Misato was annoying to say the least. That they had a similar relationship as the Original Misato and Kaji was just adding insult to injury.

And recalling Ritsuko's dalliance with Gendo, she was impressed Rei had not fully jumped into the bottle-blonde's position. She knew the Nephilum was sweet on the boy in the Original Timeline.

0o0o0o0

2.g.

It was inevitable, Asuka knew that -though she never consciously acknowledged it- every possible eventuality _could_ and _would_ occur as she continuously reset over and over. The Law of Probability said so.

But she wasn't sure she'd ever stop having nightmares from the last Loop.

Just as she knew she'd eventually face every possible reality, she'd known an equal or greater number of things could "go wrong". And it seemed like everything that _could_ go wrong _had_ gone wrong in the last reset.

It had started out as a mirror of the Original Timeline, as the majority of them did, and she'd been the only one Awake, an oddity since Rei had Awoken a double dozen resets ago. Everything had gone down hill from there.

Shinji synched better with Unit-Two than she did, actually overriding her synch, and had suffered sympathetic wounds from Gaghiel's bite. He'd died in her arms before they could get the plug open to help him.

Then, against Israfel, Rei had been killed. They'd managed to start up a Clone in time to help her kill the Twin Angel a week later, but the "new" Rei was obviously not the same. Asuka, through her Angel Heritage, could feel the difference in souls instantly.

She'd cried herself to sleep for nearly a week afterwards.

When she went after Sandalphon, she'd had to trigger her EVA going berserk to get out of the volcano, and as a result it was "on ice" during Matariel's attack. While Rei managed to kill the spider Angel, the acid had killed her as well. The new Clone was yet another soul, and Asuka had avoided her for nearly a month afterwards.

By some miracle NERV was able to take care of Iruel the same as in the OT, but lost the use of Balthazar for two months afterwards as a result. Which lead to issues when they had Sahaquiel attack. Rei was, yet again, killed when her EVA failed just as Asuka struck the killing blow.

By this iteration of Rei, the Fifth, Asuka was openly insulting her when she had to interact and avoiding her at all other times.

Leliel died with Rei trapped inside, over five hundred N2 bombs literally splashing the Angel across Tokyo-3. While she could sense when Gendo and Ritsuko activated Rei VI, she knew they'd keep her hidden til the End Game.

Bardiel died, and even though Asuka managed to save the plug intact, the Angel had taken Touji's life well before it had reached her.

Asuka hadn't known she could cry that hard, or for that long. Looking back, she guiltily realized Misato had been almost the same when Shinji had died after the Sixth Angel. The woman had clung to Asuka after that, and _she'd_ failed to be there for Misato. When Rei "died" in Leliel Misato had almost completely withdrawn, and the German woman hazily recalled the raven-haired woman had been clinging to Rei almost as much as she had to Asuka, which only compounded her guilt.

Zeruel was a massacre. Most of the bridge staf had died, along with Kozo -not that she'd ever gotten to know them-, but the crippling cost for Asuka had been watching Misato bleed out in her arms before any medical teams could reach them in the wreckage of Central Dogma. The Major had cried, telling Asuka she was proud of how far she'd come from the bratty girl on Over-The-Rainbow.

Tears were long gone, only an ache so painful she'd once again thought of suicide as she had in the OT. But she had sworn to Misato to see things through, and she _would_ finish this Loop.

Broken as she was, Arael had been child's-play to take down. She'd simply confronted the Commander with enough knowledge -which she worded such that Rei would be the obvious conclusion for her source- to make him equip her with the Lance from the start.

Swearing loyalty to him and his "scenario", which he promised would reunite her with those lost, was an easy price to pay when she knew it would all start over in the end anyways.

Losing her EVA to kill Armisael was brushed aside with the "news" that Unit-Three was rebuilt and ready for her to use against Tabris when he arrived and revealed himself.

Asuka's rage had known no bounds with the Last Angel had arrived, the _creature_ having the guts to look like he could be the albino brother to Shinji.

With her revealing her Angel Nature in her battle with Kaworu, Gendo had her trapped in a Bakelite "coffin" just thin enough for her to still hear him when he brought Rei VI to visit right before he went to trigger Impact.

The last straw had been Rei simply laying her hand on the surface above her face, eyes shimmering as she'd whispered something Asuka couldn't make out before turning to leave.

0o0o0o0

2.h.

Asuka sat outside, away from the eyes and ears of the other students, exhausted to the depths of her soul as she leaned against a small tree in the burning "Summer" sun. Hearing soft foot steps, she felt Rei II approach, and cursed her luck until a simple phrase froze her in place.

"Hello, Asuka."

She slowly turned her crystal blue gaze, starting to fill with tears, and found Rei looking down at her, the depth of knowledge and sympathy in her ruby red gaze combined with the less formal greeting telling her this Rei was Awake. And that_ she_ had been there right at the end.

When Rei sat next to her, she leaned over and wrapped her in a hug, letting her cries echo out as she let everything from the last Loop out.

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A/N: Changed my mind, you'll just have to guess how many Loops between sections. lol Though I will say that by 2.h they are at about 100yrs for Asuka and forty or so with Rei [she isn't always Awake for a Loop, and the majority of those last all the way to the "end" of Third Impact].

2.c has very little editing, the whole thing entirely too entertaining.

2.d "Older" Rei gets her kicks from embarrassing others. Asuka being a prime target, since she'll remember every Loop.

2.e Or maybe that wasn't such a bright idea, lacking experience Asuka has in spades.

2.f The lines **Tasermon's Partner** sent are gonna be popping up here and there in various forms, and I'll quote the exact line if I use it in its "pure" form. This was inspired by "...Asuka, Shinji, and Rei play Operations manager, Commander, and Doctor respectively...".

2.g Murphy had let Asuka "have her fun" for a long time by this point, and Asuka was not prepared for their revenge.

2.h Rei Woke up right at the end, as Gendo led her to Terminal Dogma. She convinced him to Asuka, and she sent her parting words before ending the Loop. "I am so very sorry, Asuka, that I was not there for you."

We end on a rather depressing note, but thing will again look up for our Loopers in the next installment. If you chose to see some Yuri between Asuka and Rei, thank **Tasermon's Partner** for the suggestion. I very strongly doubt I'll actually write Yuri/Yaoi, it's not really my thing and I won't write something I'm not comfortable I can pull off, but if you chose to see hints of it then more power to you. Check out **Leviticus Wilkes**' story "Evangelion Time Loop: The First Crash" for "canon" Evangelion Loops Asuka/Rei, though it's only a little less subtle than mine.


	3. Chapter 3

**Neon Genesis Evangelion**  
**Evangelion Loop Theater!**  
**By BrokenChosenofEva**

**0**  
**0**

Title: [Continued]  
Prompt: various  
Word Count: 1.8k+  
Rating: T  
Summary: Time Loop AU. Asuka wakes up back at the beginning, and in wondering why she is back _again_ she finds a small book only she can read with information on "Looping" and revealling she is her universe's "Anchor".

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion [or any of the other shows that pop up]. This is in no way connected to the established Infinite Loops Universe. This is only for my own amusement, those who read it, and those who send in ideas.

Notes: Not sure how often this will be updated, and I am willing to take ideas from reviewers [I'll tag the source at the top of each section that came from someone else].

Thank you all for the reviews and PMs!

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3.a. [Initial idea requested by **Traitor of all Traitors**]

This was not happening, not after what she went through barely five Loops ago.

Standing in the small kitchen of her Tokyo-3, NERV-funded, upperclass apartment, Asuka watched Mana and Kyo sitting in the living room as her Loop memories asserted themselves and she Awoke.

They were twins, born a year after she and Touji stopped Third Impact at the cost of the man's life. Her only consolation had been finding out she was pregnant during her medical check after the battle.

And to making things worse, Rei wasn't Awake this Loop. She sent out a subtle pulse of her AT-Field, something Rei would be able to detect and reply with, but she'd not felt any shift to tell her the Looping blunette was Aware.

Throwing up the mask of "this" Asuka and smiling, she softly told the grinning children they could watch some cartoons while she took a nap. Stepping into her room, closing and locking the door, she almost made it to the bed before collapsing to her knees and slamming the full force of her AT-Field around the room to lock in the sounds of her sobs so her children would not hear her.

0o0o0o0

3.b

It was a new experience for the two of them. Rei had yet to be any age that was not within just a couple years of Asuka's own, and here she was old enough -combined with Asuka's own age in this Loop- to be the redhead's mother.

And both of them were Awake. Which Rei struggle to believe was a good thing even as she was finding herself horribly out of her depth while she comforted Asuka, who had just awoken from a night terror that had brought up a slurry of horrors from some of the previous Loops. Including Asuka's last Loop.

Laying down and curling around the tiny, crying four-year-old form of her Looping companion, Rei struggled to recall a soothing tune she'd heard in a Loop where she'd been friends with Kensuke Aida.

"Aimo~, aimo~, Ne-de Lushe~"

0o0o0o0

3.c [spawned from **Tasermon's Partner**'s list]

Asuka glared across the table at Rei, the two of them -mainly Asuka- quiet only because Shinji was currently less than ten feet away and cooking dinner in their apartment.

And by "their", Asuka and Rei's memories meant it in the "married" way.

While Rei was content with this Loop as far as her connection to Shinji, she was equally uncertain about having the same connection to Asuka, and far more certain the aforementioned redhead was _not_ "content" with the arrangement.

They both knew the only reason she hadn't killed everyone in the room, including herself to start a new Loop, was because she and Rei _both_ had figured out that murder/suicide endings made the next few loops either very dark or very weird.

0o0o0o0

3.d

"I appear to be Deadpool..."

"Pretty sure the comic I saw you reading with Aida that Loop had that character in a body suit, not a bikini..."

"Then how do you explain me knowing the author is most likely attempting to not laugh?" Rei smirked, though the motion was only enough for Asuka's long experience with the Nephilum to pick up, "And now they are nervous."

"Oooh-Kay, Wondergirl." Asuka leaned back from the blue-and-black bikini wearing woman, her own "outfit" not far removed from her plugsuit.

"Let us go. The author most likely wishes to drop this block and move on, so we should enjoy whatever random things the readers imagine us doing."

"That's just getting creepier and creepier, Rei."

0o0o0o0

3.e

"I'm impressed, Wondergirl. I didn't even know you were planning for this." Asuka smirked, newfound respect for the girl sitting in Gendo's chair in the man's office, "How many Loops did you spend figuring it out?"

"Twenty-eight, ten of them communing with Unit-One to learn from Yui." Rei folded her hands before her face, copying Gendo's preferred pose. Asuka arched and eyebrow.

"And by communing you mean...?"

"I waited until nightshift and disabled the security around the EVAs while I merged with the core to speak with her."

"I bet that was pretty trippy." Asuka laughed.

"I have never tripped."

The comment and Rei's obvious confusion -even being around her for so long, Rei still didn't catch every turn-of-phrase used around her- drew another chuckle from Asuka.

"Careful what you claim, Rei. I once swore I'd never wear a frilly dress, and I told you how that turned out."

Rei winced.

0o0o0o0

3.f

And winced again when she tripped over her own two feet when she stepped outside her apartment at the beginning of the next Loop, silently cursing Asuka.

This, as the German woman would say, was going to be "one of _those_ Loops".

0o0o0o0

3.g

"Dis is all your fault, _Wondergirl_." Asuka yelled over the sound of their guns and the screams of the infected, a slight accent in her voice telling Rei just how pissed she was.

"We could not know that 'death-by-tripping' would count as suicide," Rei shoved away a leaping infected and flattened it with her AT-Field, "and trigger more 'Broken Loops', _Second_."

"Ya just _had_ tuh say 'I don't trip', didn't you?" Asuka slung her shotgun and started climbing up the ladder when they heard the roar of a 'Hulk' -what they'd taken to calling the massive infected- from the street at the end of the alley they were in.

"At least they are not hoards of human-sized Angels." Rei called out, following her up the ladder.

"Damn it Wondergirl!"

0o0o0o0

3.h

By luck or providence Asuka was already awake -and Awake- when her modified cell began to ring. She'd spent several Loops -and the last month- figuring out how to keep it from being monitored by SEELE, NERV, _and_ various governments for when she might need to talk with Rei when they are both Awake in a Loop.

Seeing the number was from Japan, she froze for a moment before answering. Rei would be the only one to try and reach her this early in the Loop, which was a new -and therefore exciting- development; she hadn't Woken up this early before in the Loops, having "remembered" about a month ago, let alone had Rei been Awake this far back with her.

"Hello?"

"Asuka, he Remembers." Rei's voice whispered -in German, which she'd spent several Loops teaching the blunette- from the earpiece, once again freezing the redhead in place, "He said he knew I would be well, and apologized for damaging my EVA in his panic to make sure."

"So, you just dealt with Ramiel, and Shinji is dealing with his first Loop two weeks before I get there with the Guide." Asuka breathed out, loud enough for Rei to hear, "Keep him calm and explain what you can. We'll talk again on Over-the-Rainbow."

"I will do my best. He may have been Awake for the entirety of the preceeding month." Asuka noticed the hint of peace in the other girl's voice, something she only now realized had been missing in the majority of the Loops she'd been Awake with Asuka.

"Missed him, huh?"

"I do not know how you handle Touji remaining Unawake..."

A "disconnected" tone was Rei's only answer.

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A/N: Here we go:

3.a This came from a short review from **ToaTs**, who asked if I could start off this set with Asuka trying to be a parent. Well, she'd already been a big sister/mother for ten year old Rei and Shinji in "I'm Needed: Redux", and it's revealed in "Not What You Bargained For" that she and Touji went on to marry and have kids after the end of "IN:R". They also said, "It would be like a sick attempt at actually trying to care about someone.", which considering how rough 2.g was, a slap to the face like sticking her in a Loop with her own kids _would_ be such. I don't think it's exactly what they're looking for, but it's what I wrote.

3.b I really hate hurting my characters, but at the same time I recall events from both my own life and especially from stories I've read -books, especially ones I enjoy, often feel more real to me-. All the things we experience are what make Life something greater than mere exsistance. The line at the end is from Macross Frontier, the song is called "Aimo", performed by Megumi Nakajima. [wrote to match how it sounds and not proper spelling]

3.d Yeah, ya'll have fun with that. Write an omake and post it yourself. I'm not touching Deadpool!Rei with a ten foot pole. Dozen or so Loops after 3.b

3.e Rei takes command of NERV from Gendo, and tempts Murphy.

3.f Murphy Loves You... Or Hates You... Murphy is your vengeful ex-lover.

3.g Death by anything other than Angels and Third Impact seriously mess with future Loops. Accident equals weird, intentional equals dark. Number of affected Loops may vary. Asuka's "accent" here is the same as Touji's from my other stories, she -obviously- picked it up from him -they _were_ married for several decades post-IN:R and post-NWYBF after all-.

3.h Bringing Shinji into the fold, and from here on I'll starting writing about some of Asuka's escapades from before Rei Awoke that have been mentioned. I'll leave it for you to decide if the section occurs before or after Rei -and then Shinji- Awoke to the Loops based on context.


	4. Chapter 4

**Neon Genesis Evangelion**  
**Evangelion Loop Theater!**  
**By BrokenChosenofEva**

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Title: Loops Theater  
Prompt: various  
Word Count: 2.8k+  
Rating: T  
Summary: Time Loop AU. Asuka wakes up back at the beginning, and in wondering why she is back _again_ she finds a small book only she can read with information on "Looping" and revealling she is her universe's "Anchor".

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion [or any of the other shows that pop up]. **This is in no way connected to the established Infinite Loops Universe.** This is only for my own amusement, those who read it, and those who send in ideas.

Notes: Not sure how often this will be updated, and I am willing to take ideas from reviewers [I'll tag the source at the top of each section that came from someone else].

I'm also starting a RWBY Loops story -there will eventually be cameos between the two-, titled "Fruit Loops". The first chapter isn't finished yet, so anyone who likes RWBY -and my NGE Loops- can PM me any ideas and I'll put them in with credit to whom it's due. Combined it'll be called "Loops Theater".

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4.a. [continued from 3.h, Rei's PoV]

Staring at the phone, a sense of sorrow at her ill-considered question and Asuka's abrupt reaction, Rei set it back in her small handbag. She'd starting attempting more "normal girl" mannerisms whenever they hit an Original Timeline Loop -she would need to confer with Asuka on a shorter name-, finding some of them convenient, such as the small purse she now kept with her school uniforms. The pockets in the school skirt were convenient, but she found she disliked the sensation of having objects in them.

Looking to Shinji, who was beginning to stir from his slumber on the hospital bed, Rei took a calming breath and organized her mind. As Asuka had told her before, Shinji tended to act distracted or impulsive when confronted with knowledge of the Loops. And while he had done admirably -Rei hadn't known for certain until he pulled her from her plug after Ramiel-, he had been obviously distracted and nervous. More nervous than in the First Timeline, at least.

The boy slowly opened his eyes, the dark blue orbs focusing on the ceiling a moment.

"That's the same too..." her sensetive hearing heard him mumble, and she took that as her opening to speak.

"I remember Impact as well, Shinji-kun."

"Rei?!" the boy bolted upright, swaying slightly, dizzy from the sudden movement, "You- you remember doing this before?"

"I remember some form of these events occurring thirty-seven times, and an additional twelve Loops where events severely deviated from the norm." she nodded, memorizing the feel of his soul -much as Asuka had her and she had Asuka- so that she would know when he Awoke next time, "Asuka remembers roughly threes times as many Loops."

"Loops?" the mix of confusion and morbid curiosity on his face and in his voice catches her attention for a moment before she answers.

"Yes. The term Asuka uses to refer to our experiencing events from roughly the fight with Gaghiel until Third Impact." Rei places her elbows on her knees, copying 'The Gendo Pose' as Asuka called it, and continued, "Starting points for Loops has begun to shift somewhat, and end points can very depending on our actions and if we die before Third Impact."

"Die?!"

"Yes." Rei smirked behind her hands, imagining this was why Gendo used this pose as she enjoyed Shinji's nervousness, "Though if one of us dies outside an Angel battle it can cause the next series of Loops to be... rather odd. We term them 'Broken Loops'. Perhaps Asuka will tell you of a few of hers once we meet on Over-The-Rainbow in a few weeks."

As the new Looper's eyes rolled back and he passed out, Rei momentarily wondered if she'd over done it. Then again, this was Shinji.

0o0o0o0

4.b [from **How-not-to-do-something**, again very minor edits]

"I knew it" Asuka said to herself.

She Woke up on the Over the Rainbow just before Gaghiel attacked, like normal. Nothing was out of place. All three of the boys acted like usual. The battle went as usual, i.e. she curbed stomped the overgrown fish. When she got to Tokyo-3 everything was as usual. Rei wasn't Awake unfortunately and neither was Shinji, but hardly unmanageable. Maybe an Original Loop alone would be good for her.

Everything was typical, up until she fell asleep.

"Is there something wrong?" asked her new companion.

The world she found herself in was a twisted nightmare of chaos and dreams. Girls with superhuman abilities and bizarre outfits roamed around. And Asuka was now one of them.

"Black Rock Shooter?" Asuka asked, tone a match for Rei's own monotone when angered. She herself wore a gothic lolita dress. She hated it, almost as much as the Magical Girl dress from near the beginning of the Loops.

Though the ability to make a battleaxe and a machine gun out of thin air was nice.

"Yes?" The strange girl asked back.

"How do I get out of here?"

0o0o0o0

4.c [kudos to those who correctly guessed the last "zombie" Loop was inspired-by/based-on L4D]

"This again?!"

Rei glanced over her shoulder to spot Asuka and Shinji back to back in NERV's Central Dogma as she locked down some of the computers and doors. Satisfied they would be unbothered until the infected could find a way up from the lower level of the massive room she moved to join them.

"Shinji, I swear to ADAM if you offed yourself in your _first Loop_-"

"I tripped."

Rei's quiet admittance instantly stopped the redhead mid-rant and drew their eyes to her as she fought down a blush.

"What."

"How does tripping make this...'Broken Loop?', Your fault?" Shinji asked, reloading his rifle while Asuka went from glaring in disbelief to laughing, "What?"

"Several Loops before you Awoke I made the mistake of claiming I never trip..." Rei sniffed, turning her head away as Asuka struggled to catch her breath, "The next Loop I repeatedly tripped over nothing, and fell down a flight of stairs on my way to assist Asuka against Matariel, where you both died under it's acid attack."

"So now, haha, we're stuck in this damn Loop, until we're overrun or manage to get back to the surface and escape somewhere." Asuka caught her breath and reloaded her shotgun, then summoned a battleaxe much to the other two's surprise, "Time to get swinging!"

"How did she do that?"

0o0o0o0

4.d

"Seriously!" Asuka screamed at Shinji, the boy-turned-girl cringing with 'her' back pressed into a corner, the two of them having just finished the fight with Gaghiel as 'Magical Girls' much to Asuka returning disgust.

"I didn't think-"

"Obviously!" Asuka snorted, ignoring her ringing cell in the pouch hanging at the small of her back, knowing it was Rei -Awake- trying to reach her, "You're a_ Pilot_, Shinji. How could you _not _be prepared for combat."

"I'd forgotten! And it was right after those infected got ahold of me. That's _painful_, Asuka!"

"We finally got a 'normal' Loop again, and you go and screw it up _in the first fight_." Asuka sighed, frustrated, and with a flash of light returned to her sundress, "Looks like you got the worse end of the deal, though."

"How?" Shinji eyed 'her' frilly, Unit-One colored dress, "And how do you switch back...?"

"Just focus on this Loop's memories." Asuka directed, then started snickering, "And I had to deal with this _after_ a Loop where I was a guy. You get to deal with Magical Girls _and_ be a girl in the same Loop."

0o0o0o0

4.e

"This is ridiculus..."

"Tell me about it, Rei," Asuka snorted as they swung their left arms and their Jaeger sucker punched the Angel/Kaiju across several blocks in downtown Tokyo-3, "We're tandum piloting a giant robot. An actual _robot_."

"I meant the easy with which the Kaiju are defeated." Rei glanced at her copilot as they advanced on the floundering giant monster, "We have been here nearly two years, and while they are becoming stronger, we have yet to be faced with a true challenge."

Stomping on the monster's skull, they ground their heel a moment before turning to face the beach as Misato called out a new signature was surfacing. Advancing to the beach, remaining on land to avoid being slowed by water resistance, they waited and blinked when Misato told them the rating assigned to the new contact.

Level-5.

"Damn it, Wondergirl!" was all Asuka managed to say before the massive Kaiju leapt from the water and slammed them to the ground.

0o0o0o0

4.f

"I swear, Wondergirl, you have no common sense."

"It _was _two years, Asuka, it was bound to go bad whether Rei said anything or not."

"That doesn't mean she should just say things like that!"

Misato watched the three Children bicker like old friends from her place at the hatch, just out of their field of view. She'd been listening for a few minutes, and they had yet to make any sense.

"I need a drink..." turning around Misato went in search of her least favorite person, in hopes he knew some _other_ secret. Like where a Naval Vessel kept the booze.

0o0o0o0

4.g

"This is ridiculus." Asuka groused and flopped back on her bed, the fluffy, crimson red comforter puffing around her, "This is the furthest back I've ever started, and I _know_ I'm gonna be bored in less than a week."

"At least you were able to get secure connections to me and Rei." Shinji pointed out, yawning with the faint sounds of cooking in the background.

"That is 'Rei and me', Shinji-kun," Rei corrected, the heavy hum that Asuka recognized as the interior of one of the Magi coming from her end, "But he is correct. Though there is little we can do at this point, we will be able to coordinate actions until we meet in four years."

"Are you going for Commander again this Loop, Wondergirl?" the tiny redhead smirked, "At least this time Shinji-kun will get to see you conquer the world."

"I do not know what you are speaking of."

"Sure, Wondergirl. Sure." Asuka snickered, "Shinji, what about you? I'm stuck here running through Synch training, but I might be able to adjust the scores so I can be transferred sooner."

"I might be able to convince my Sensei to transfer me to Tokyo-3 middle school sooner..." the boy hesitated, "he never liked having me here, and let me go pretty easy when I got _Father's_ note..."

"Let's plan to be in Tee-Three in..." Asuka hummed in thought, "say two years? But if we can get there sooner we let the others know."

"Okay."

"That is acceptable."

0o0o0

"Rei-chan! Shinji-kun!" Asuka darted into the school yard after spotting the familiar head of lavender hair that was Rei, and beside her was a head of brown hair she knew was Shinji. She hadn't realized she'd missed them as much as she did until she'd caught sight of them. It _had_ been three years.

The two Children Loopers spun at her call, smiling -Shinji's shy while Rei's was subtle- as she grabbed them both in a bear hug.

"It is good to see you Asuka-chan." Rei greeted, revelling in the warmth of contact so rarely given to her even in -and before- the Loops, "Shinji only arrived last week. Perhaps two years was a small stretch of our abilities?"

"Give me a break, Wondergirl," Asuka snickered, "_I_ at least had to get through NERV-Berlin's red tape. What's your excuse, Invincible Shinji?"

"I forgot how clingy Sensei's wife is. She kept him from letting me leave until I turned thirteen." Shinji ducked his head, "Apparently, that was when her family would let their kids move out. They're well-off, and never had many kids, so they'd cover a cheap appartment in town and a small allowance for food and a little extra."

"Just wait til we start getting our NERV pay." Asuka patted him on the back, "Ready to make waves here?"

0o0o0o0

4.h [Inspired by **Tasermon's Partner** yet again. lol]

Asuka once again found herself glaring across the table, though this time _passed_ Rei and not at her. It wasn't her "co-wife's" fault they were again in a Loop she was uncomfortable with.

The fact Shinji _and_ Rei were Awake, and Shinji was much more uncomfortable than she was, did put a damper on her bad mood. Nothing like having teasing ammo to use against Shinji. And besides, she did have Touji. Which further added to the discomfort of her fellow Loopers, since he was Shinji's "co-husband".

Apparently the world's reaction to the massive loss of life and declining birthrates following Second Impact had been to start using arranged marriages and allow polygamy.

According to her memories, she and Shinji had been betrothed before their mothers died in the EVAs. After a few years in Tokyo-3, Rei had been added to the group by Gendo as a response to Asuka snagging -or being snagged by- Touji. The fight between the two boys had actually been fun to watch, considering Shinji had been sparring with Asuka and Rei, the normally shy boy caring enough for the two girls -even before Rei was added to their "marriage"- that he actually got mad and fought back.

With no Angels for the last ten years, the Pilots had been put on inactive status roughly six years ago with training declining in that time to once a week.

One other bright spot had been Rei and Shinji Awakening -at the same time- roughly an hour after she had, which had been yesterday evening while Touji was out at the local mini-mart.

Shinji's scream would be something she laughed about for decades, she was sure. And Rei's expression when she rushed out of the bathroom, in her "birthday suit" no less -and the Nephilum girl had even _blushed_ at that fact- was also something she'd remember.

Though she wished she could scrub the... _other_ memories from her mind, and she was sure it was the same for the other two. As much as she'd always jumped to hurling perverted claims at Shinji in the First Timeline, she was probably only beaten in the "modesty and decency" department by Shinji himself.

Not that Rei wasn't getting better the more Loops she was Awake for. But Asuka could do without the occassional "R"-rated teasing from the lavender-haired Looper. Where Rei had gotten that habit was something she'd rather not find out.

But it was probably Misato's fault...

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A/N: Here we go:

4.a Teasing Shinji is another thing Asuka and Rei can bond over.

4.b "Trust me, this thing makes much more sense in context. Sort of."-quote, **HNTDS**

4.c Clutz!Rei strikes again! Loops "a", "b", and "c" all occur one after the other. Asuka was too distracted in "b" to think of Rei or Shinji suffering an "accident" that could've caused the odd Loop.

4.d Get in touch with your feminine side, Shinji. At least you always looked the part.

4.e Hello giant monsters, I see Second Impact isn't stopping you from again going after Tokyo. And Rei really needs to stop inviting Murphy to the party.

4.f They aren't exactly careless, but they don't usually care who overhears either. Without any context, it's just wierd rambling. And for the curious, Hikari was Shinji's co-pilot with Kensuke and Touji piloting a third "Jaeger".

4.g Childhood friends aren't something any of them had, not in the First Timeline, and they don't count the various Loops as they've always been _distracted_ or had years more experience than their "peers". And it's hard to make friends, for them -especially them-, when you reset every year.

4.h Asuka was, realistically of the three Pilots, the most perverted. Honestly, she was _always_ jumping to conclusions and calling _Shinji_ the pervert when he actively avoided those situations. Once again, blame **Tasermon's Partner**. Hope you enjoyed it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Neon Genesis Evangelion**  
**Evangelion Loop Theater!**  
**By BrokenChosenofEva**

**0**  
**0**

Title: Loops Theater[Continued]  
Prompt: various  
Word Count: 4.7k+  
Rating: T  
Summary: Time Loop AU. Asuka wakes up back at the beginning, and in wondering why she is back _again_ she finds a small book only she can read with information on "Looping" and revealling she is her universe's "Anchor".

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion [or any of the other shows that pop up]. This is in no way connected to the established Infinite Loops Universe. This is only for my own amusement, those who read it, and those who send in ideas.

Notes: Not sure how often this will be updated, and I am willing to take ideas from reviewers [I'll tag the source at the top of each section that came from someone else].

Check out the RWBY half of Loops Theater called "Fruit Loops".

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5.a

Asuka blinked at the phone in her hand, ignoring the automated messaging about a government declared State of Emergency. She knew this place, Shinji'd told her one Loop about how he'd arrived in Tokyo-3, but finding herself in the Third Children's place was not something she'd expected.

Ground shaking under her, Asuka looked up to spot Sachiel as it paused while taking missile fire, before the massive entity raised an arm and knocked a VTOL out of the sky and to the ground barely fifty meters from her.

Hearing the squeal of tires, the German Looper turned to find Misato leaning across her center console after knocking the passenger door open.

"Am I late? Come on, get in!"

0o0o0o0

5.b

"I am bored."

"Watch your mouth, Wondergirl."

"I'm bored too."

"Damn it, Third!"

"We're bored."  
"We are bored."

"I can't believe the two of you manipulated Gendo and Misato into allowing both of you to come meet me on Over-The-Rainbow just to complain about being _bored_." Asuka stood up and left the mess hall, the other two Loopers following, leaving behind a slack-jawed Misato and Kaji, "Fine, warm up your S2s. We'll go _fishing_."

0o0o0

"I didn't know Gaghiel was such a wimp." Asuka deadpanned while Rei flung the loudly whimpering Angel through the ruins of Old Tokyo, "Be glad I'm bored too, Third, or I'd be flinging you around like that after the stunts you pulled last loop."

"Come on, Asuka, I didn't Wake up til right before Kaworu!"

"I can't believe you tried to have your way with me, just because you were an Angel." the redhead prodded.

"I wasn't _me_!" Shinji crossed his arms, voice frustrated and face a bright red from Asuka's teasing, "It was a good thing you were Awake before that synch test, or it could've gone a lot differently."

"Still mad you haven't gotten any since Waking up?"

"Keep your married life to yourself, Second."

"Awww, is widdle Shinji-kun jealous?" Asuka smirked.

"And you called me the pervert."

Blinking at the sudden drop in temperature, Shinji had a full second to realize his error before he joined Gaghiel as a living wrecking ball. Not that Gaghiel remained that way after Shinji hit its core at Mach 2.

0o0o0o0

5.c

Waking up -capital "W"- in a bright room with steady beeping in the background was new. For a moment she didn't know what was going on, and then the Loop Memories registered.

_Great_.

It was after her attempted suicide. She shied away from that memory, going back through the other memories to see if it was a Normal Loop and not a Broken or Weird Loop. It seemed to be normal, aside from Shinji acting a bit odd and a few other events being slightly different.

"Hello, Asuka."

Jerking slightly, the redhead turned her head to spot Shinji sitting in a chair nearby -though still well out of reach- reading what looked like a text book. He closed the book and closed his eyes for a second, and Asuka _felt_ his AT-Field pulse outward, shortly followed by what she knew to be Rei's AT-Field pulse back. So they were Awake.

"This is a screwed up Loop." Asuka groused, pulsing her own Field and sitting up, "I've never had a Loop start this far in."

"Actually, I started right after Sachiel's fight." Shinji watched Asuka, squinting and leaning back in obvious preparation for her reaction. He wasn't disappointed.

"_What?!_" Asuka yelped, staring at him with jaw dropped, "I thought I had to Wake up first?"

"Rei was reading the Guide -when she woke up and it was just us- and it only says you'll be Awake for every Loop, not that you're Awake from the beginning." Shinji held up what she'd thought was a text, revealing the front cover of the Guide.

"When did Wondergirl Wake up?"

"After Gendo and Ritsuko decanted Rei III." Shinji moved over and unlocked the door before sitting back down, "I know it's only been one Loop -mostly-, but is this what you went through before Rei Woke up?"

"The foreknowledge, being alone..." Asuka clarified, sighing, "Kinda, yeah. I'm glad most of my Loops have you guys now. Well, one or the other of you."

"We aren't always Awake?" Shinji blinked, "I knew sometimes one of us wasn't, but you still get Loops without us?"

"Shinji, the Guide _says_ you aren't always Awake. Only I am, cause I'm the Anchor."

"I guess." Shinji sighed, and the two of them turned as the door opened and Rei walked in.

"Hello, Second." she gave a slight nod, sitting on the edge of Asuka's bed, "The doctors will be along in a few moments to check on you and release you from Medical... It's good to see you."

"Thanks, Rei." Asuka smiled at her two companions, "Wanna finish this Loop with a bang?"

0o0o0o0

5.d

One thing Asuka had noticed -though it took having the three of them Looping through what _she_ privately thought of as her "Original Timeline"- was the fact she did not share the same "baseline" Loop as her companions.

Rei and Shinji both recalled only the first timeline, while she recalled it and the timeline that followed. Neither of them could recall The Beach, either, which was something she was glad for. It wasn't her proudest moment, not by any stretch, though it wasn't her lowest either.

But this fact gave her some small hope that Touji, _her_ Touji, would Wake up one Loop and have the same baseline as she did. That he would remember living years with her and raising a family.

So she hoped, and waited -patience born from hundreds of Loops- for the day she'd have him back.

But until then, she'd take what she could. And suiting thoughts to actions, she gave Touji a kiss before he left for work in this Aberrant "slice-of-life" Loop.

0o0o0o0

5.e

It had been a simple question that _Shinji_, of all people, had posed in the last Loop: "If everything resets, why not have a bit of fun."

Obviously, she -and the others, when Awake- had done some out-of-character things to the people and events that filled the Angel War. But she'd never really put excessive thought into it.

Unfortunately for the others, she was the only one Awake this go-around.

Grinning -or more accurately, smirking-, Asuka left her cabin with a plan in mind.

0o0o0

"Allo, Misato!" the redhead called out, expression halfway between a smile and a smirk, "And Shinji, Kensuke, and Touji."

"Hello Asuka- wait, how'd you know their names?" Misato paused mid-greeting, perplexed.

"I do my research," Asuka flipped her hair, then smoothed out her blouse before putting her hands on her jean-clad hips, "I'm a college grad and Pilot of Unit-Two, you should know I stay on top of everything EVA related."

"Yes, well, with introductions out of the way, why don't we-"

"Katsuragi! Long time, no see, huh?"

"Kaji!?"

Walking up behind Asuka, missed by the others after the German girl's greeting, Ryoji Kaji stepped up beside her and smirked.

"How have things been?"

With Misato doing her usual "angry Ex" routine, Asuka waved the three boys to follow her. She'd already picked which one to bring with her in the EVA, and she wanted the other two below decks so they'd be safe when Gaghiel found them.

0o0o0

Her plan had been to get Touji to synch with her early, maybe accelerate his entry to NERV, and it mostly worked. He had access and did synch-tests with Unit-Two, and the fact Asuka didn't complain about potentially "sharing" her EVA left several people highly perplexed about this odd shift in her personality compared to the profile generated by NERV-Berlin.

But it didn't trigger them sending "his" EVA any sooner, so she counted it a bust.

Then she made an effort to get Kensuke and Hikari together, and with Touji hanging out with her and Shinji -and Rei, when she could be cajoled to join them- it hadn't been too difficult to get the Otaku to calm down and turn Hikari's eyes to her other longtime friend.

She counted that successful, and wished she had a few photos to show her Looping companions when she next saw them.

She had to admit, using her foreknowledge and calling it "research" gave her a great deal of amusement. Ritsuko and Gendo couldn't pin her down without risking his scenario, and they couldn't find out where she got her information without interrogating her.

Staying ahead of the "Boss" and his minions was amusing, and a great boost to her in-Loop persona -not to mention her "normal/Looping" self-, but she never pushed it too far and kept her Angelic Heritage as a back-up plan if she overstepped and things went south.

0o0o0

Arguing, loudly, with each Angel they fought was also hilarious when she could go into the Magi and get video recordings of Misato and the others reactions. The fact she blared it over the loudspeakers on her EVA and that a couple of the Angels seemed to react to her taunts just made it better.

Israfel seemed genuinely confused when her EVA began scolding it, allowing Shinji to get in position for a two-pronged strike that insta-killed it.

The next Angel it worked on was Bardiel, who completely changed tactics when she began to rant at it. The "poor thing" -as she jeered at it- lost all semblance of control when she began treating their fight as some kind of interpretive dance, complete with commentary. Touji was an annoying but easy rescue with Bardiel missing its arms and legs, and the boy got nothing worse than an overnight stay in NERV Medical.

Zeruel ignored her, which was fine, as she really just wanted to give a running monologue on its "short-comings" and why she was the better "MMA fighter" while she danced around it and managed to tear it down to something unAwake Shinji could finish off.

Arael self-destruct when she pushed a few dozen "aberrant Loops" through its telepathic strike while giving a verbal self-diagnoses of her "original" mental issues from the "First Timeline". The Looks on everyone's faces from _that_ recording made her seriously wish she could keep items from Loop to Loop.

Armisael was...trippy, she supposed. It honestly reminded her of being several months pregnant when it tried to bond with her, and it's looping -not Looping- dialogue was rather disappointing. Blowing up wasn't an option, of course, so she triggered her Angelic Heritage -she could pass it off as the Angel's fault, and did with a good bit of science babble that _Ritsuko_ had trouble following-, and simply "turned it off" with a simple LILITH-level command.

She wasn't, however, pleased wih the bloated feeling that persisted for several days. Thankfully, her ability to detect AT-Fields on an extremely subtle level told her she hadn't _actually_ become pregnant. That would have been awkward _and_ unpleasant. Ritsuko's face during her long explanation of her victory was hilarious though.

Tabris, or Kaworu, was relatively anti-climactic. He picked up on her being a Progenitor Angel right after meeting her, and simply took her word as law. Boring, but amusing when she decided to "finally" break cover and reveal she was "the mother of all Angels" -in both fashions-, and freaked out the NERV crew and Shinji. Rei's reaction was boring, the blunette simply nodding like she'd always known.

0o0o0

Treating the MP-EVAs like spoiled children was, she thought, rather inspired. She took each one and bent it over her EVA's knee and spanked it while telling it to never attack her or Humans. While it didn't work, the closed feed to the bridge revealed to her expressions she didn't think she'd ever stop laughing about.

Obviously the slug-headed EVAs tried to attack again, so she proceeded to tear them apart in the most gory fashion she could while giving a biology lesson.

Unfortunately, she forgot about Rei and Gendo down in Terminal Dogma with Lilith, so she eventually found herself flipped head-over-heels into the side of the Geofront.

Standing back up, she proceeded to tell Lilith/Rei exactly what she thought of her, the Loops, and Gendo and Ritsuko's trist and ancestory until her AT-Field was eventually overpowered and the Loop reset.

What? Calling her "Lilith" was like calling Tabris "Adam". Massively powerful, but not on the same level.

0o0o0o0

5.f

Asuka Woke up in class.

This in-and-of itself was not unusual -though somewhat uncommon-, and after examining her Loop memories and finding it a "happy-go-lucky" mix between "OTL" and "slice-of-life" she sent a subtle AT-pulse. Shinji and Rei were in the room, so she doubted they'd miss it if they were Awake, and she was proved right moments later when they jerked in their seats and pulsed back.

It promised to be a long Loop, the Angels appearing months apart -and they had just defeated Israfel last month-, and the "trauma" classic to "Original" Loops -which Rei had suggested be called "Origin Loops"- was lacking, as was Gendo's neglectic of Shinji and the other Pilots' well-being.

Leaning back, paying only enough attention to avoid being called out, she sunk herself in her Loop memories until lunch.

0o0o0

Once they'd gathered on the roof, Asuka set about business.

Namely, telling them about her last Loop.

Shinji's honest chuckles and laughter at what she'd done, and how the people around her had reacted, reminded her of the times in _her _Home Loop when she, Touji, and the much younger twins Shinji and Rei would simply enjoy telling stories and having fun.

Rei was Rei, of course -Looping or not-, and simply smiled. But it was a far fuller smile than she normally gave, more like you'd expect of a younger girl "her age" -since the Loops she'd been in put her around a century old by now-, and helped dispell most of her melancholy at memories long since shifted to the past.

The blunette's expression when Asuka revealed her rant at Lilith in the end was a priceless mix of surprise and indignation that had the German redhead laughing aloud while Shinji collapsed breathlessly to the roof top.

Filled with the warmth at this moment of companionship, and the gentle echoes through their AT-Fields, Asuka knew she would enjoy this Loop.

0o0o0o0

5.g

When Asuka Awoke in her room that first night after reaching Tokyo-3, she sent a Pulse before examining her Loop memories and her surroundings.

The utilitarian space she'd been assigned in the Geofront was something she'd honestly forgotten about. Except for back near the beginning of the Loops, she'd always managed to get Misato to take her in right off the bat, and thus avoid spending a few weeks alone prior to the disasterous first battle with Israfel -a battle she usually altered by working _with_ Shinji as she'd been trained, instead of letting her old self be a showoff-.

Feeling only one return ping against her AT-Field, Asuka took a moment to realize it was Shinji. She blinked, momentarily caught off-guard, not being able to recall having a Loop alone with him since he'd started Looping. For the longest time it was just her, then her and Rei, then recently the three of them.

Then the Loop memories hit, and Asuka wondered exactly what was going on.

Apparently, "Rei" was an annoyingly chipper brunette by the name of Bara Ayanami this time around, and wore a black with _red_ corset and skirt when possible. Rei disliking or outright hating the color red was almost a law of nature... Then again, they were Looping and gaining power from one to the next, what was one more smashed "law" after all the others?

Not finding Ayanami within her not-inconsiderable reach via AT-Field -even when supressing her Heritage-, Asuka decided to set out and greet the new girl. Technically she'd meet her at school tomorrow, but why wait?

0o0o0

One of Asuka's first thoughts on meeting "Bara Ayanami" was that she was _not_ just a perky re-paint of Rei. Bara was legitimately upbeat, slightly confused about where she was and what was happening, and had -upon spotting Asuka- waved her over and opened up with a simple -but groundbreaking- question.

"So, ever feel like time keeps Looping?"

That stopped Asuka cold in her tracks. The girl was a Looper, or that was her first assumption, and more importantly was _new_.

"And you keep Waking Up on the same day?" the girl's reaction to Asuka's question was to visibly deflate in relief, then bounce back and zip to her in a blink, leaving only rose petals in her wake.

"Yes! I was _soooo_ hoping this wasn't some really weird Loop!" the brunette visibly focused and stilled, taking a breath and smiling calmly, "I'm Ruby Rose, but here I'm called-"

"Bara Ayanami, yeah." Asuka smiled back, a touch unnerved, "You're replacing my Friend Rei Ayanami. She's normally a lavender-blue haired girl."

"Oh... Well, she'll be back next Loop, I think. It's always that way for our Loops, or that's what Weiss thinks."

"Weiss?"

"Yeah, Weiss Schnee! She's the Anchor, and my best friend!" Ruby's expression dimmed, "But I can't feel her Aura anywhere, so she's either outside the...'Geofront'? Maybe? Or just not here..."

"What are you talking about? You mean her AT-Field?" While the German was excited to have an obvious treasure trove of new knowledge standing before her, the other girl obviously didn't do 'calm and focused' like Rei, "Let's start over. I'm Asuka Langely Suzuhara, but this Loop I'm Asuka Sohryu. I'm the Anchor, and I Pilot Unit-Two. Your Loop memories should tell you the rest."

"You're an Anchor too?" Ruby's eyes go distant for moment as she thinks on her Loop memories, "Oh... this is worse than it seemed... Anyway! I'm Ruby Rose, Third to Loop and Huntress from Beacon Academy! Weiss Schnee is my Anchor, and Yang and Blake are also Looping. The four of us are Team Ruby, lead by me! That's Ruby spelled 'R', 'W', 'B', 'Y'. It's our initials."

"Okay, I think we should head back to one of our rooms," Asuka began rubbing the bridge of her nose, feeling a potential headache, "Then we'll finish explaining each others Loops."

This was gonna be a long night, and maybe a long Loop.

0o0o0o0

5.h [inspired by a comment from **Zephyrus Genesis**]

Asuka Woke up in class, and sent out a Pulse. Receiving two replies from inside the room, she knew Shinji and Rei were with her -though whether or not they had a "visitor" was up for debate-.

Reviewing her Loop memories, Asuka found it was a few days after Leliel and their first day back at school. She also found she'd been relatively friendly with the other two Pilots, so she messaged them over the school chat to meet on the roof.

0o0o0

The bell rang, as always, and the students rushed for the door to have lunch outside -as the day was surprisingly fair for Post-Second Impact-, as always. And, like they'd been doing since starting the Loops, Asuka and her fellow Loopers waited for the rush to thin out before heading for the roof.

This Loop put Asuka behind Shinji and Rei, and the two of them said they would meet her on the roof after grabbing drinks -it seemed Unawake Shinji had forgotten to bring any from home, and Rei wanted something other than water-. As Asuka moved to follow, Hikari caught her by lightly touching her arm.

"Asuka-chan, do you have a moment?"

"Sure Hikari, what's up?" she turned to the brunette, stepping away from the door as the last few students filed out, "Is something wrong?"

Hikari blinked, hesitating as she watched Asuka, and the redhead felt like she was about to face a "hard question" like she sometimes got from her children as they grew up.

"What happened with NERV a few days ago?" Hikari blushed, waving her hands for a moment, "Not that I'm trying to pry, you just seem... different, today..."

Asuka thought over her Loop memories, trying to see if she'd behaved that much differently in class today than her Unawake self had in the months previous, and found nothing that stood out. Mentally shrugging, she decided to 'act naturally' and see what happened.

"It's classified," she gave a sheepish smile, leaning against the desk -the teacher having left with the students-, and sent another, softer Pulse, "but it was pretty crazy. What seems different, it's still me."

"Well..."

"It's alright, Hikari, I won't get mad."

"That." Hikari's eyes widened as she seemed to find what she'd been looking for, then blushed, "You just seem more mature. Not that you weren't before, just... it's like you've added decades..."

Hikair groaned in frustration, "I'm not making any sense..."

"No..." Asuka blinked, seeming to understand what Hikari had picked up on, mentally running through the pros and cons and hoping the others wouldn't mind, "I get what you're saying... Hey, join me for lunch on the roof? There's...a lot to explain."

"Of course! I'll be up there in a minute."

Giving her friend a nod, Asuka left.

0o0o0

"So we'll tell her?" Shinji asked, the three of them leaning against the railing around the roof and facing the access door as they waited for Hikari, "Have you told her before, like you tried with us?"

"No, I haven't tried to tell her before..." Asuka sighed, feeling Shinji's curious gaze and Rei's patient presence, "It's always been easy to fake it with everyone, unless I wanted some change. And if I altered things it was always crazy and I never really spent time around her..."

"But this time you were closer friends, and she noticed the subtle changes that come with Waking up." Rei noted, and at the others curious glance she blushed and continued, "When we Awaken, there is a sudden sense of age. Our centuries of knowledge leave a noticeable mark that those who know us are able to notice and comment on. If they do not explain it away in their own minds."

"Yeah... pretty much."

The sudden comment from the roof access startled the three, though Rei had the control to not show it, and they turned their eyes to Hikari. The girl froze under their gazes, then hesitantly moved over to them.

"Centuries? What did the Angel do, Asuka?"

"It wasn't the Angel, Hikari, it's..." the German woman sighed, gesturing everyone to sit, and the group was soon arrayed in a small circle, "I'm experiencing the same year -or years, sometimes- over and over. I've been around for a very long time, Hikari-chan."

"What...?" Hikari blinked, swallowing thickly as she continued, "How- why is it happening?"

Asuka opened a small dirac sea and pulled out a book that was instantly familiar to her fellow Loopers; a leather journal with the simple word "_Guide_" on the cover.

"How did you do that?" came from Shinji and Hikari, while Rei simply blinked in surprise.

"Oh, uh, I was gonna explain this, but Hikari caught me." Asuka actually blushed, though not as surprising an expression on her as it was on Rei, "I can put things in a Pocket of Dirac, and they follow me between Loops. I figured it out in a Loop before the one with Ruby, and just haven't really had time to show you."

She held the book out to Hikari, "This is the Guide. I find it in almost every Loop, buried in my things like I've always owned it, and I've started keeping one copy in my Dirac. Loops are what we call these repeated experiences of the same events."

"Not all the Loops are the same, though they generally follow the same pattern established in the Original Timeline." Rei explained as Hikari began flipping through the Guide, "We call the Original events the Home Loop, which fits better and was suggested by Ruby, who had replaced me in one of the Loops."

"Wait, slow down." Hikari's breathing was quick, her eyes wide as they flashed over the pages and occassionally glanced at her friend and the other two, "Reality is _broken_? Loops? _Replaced_?"

"Easy, Horaki-san," Shinji spoke softly, calming Hikari, "It's... a lot to take in... I know, I'm the most recent to Wake up, maybe... fifty Loops ago? I think? I'm still sometimes in shock when I Wake up to a new Loop."

"I- When..." Hikari took a deep breath, "When did you wake- _Wake_ up? Today?"

"This morning, after class started." Asuka answered, shrugging, "Normally I Wake up on Over-the-Rainbow, when Shinji and the Stooges are excused from class to go out and meet me with Misato. But sometimes we Wake up earlier or later, like this time."

"I- I need a bit, to think on all this..." Hikari smiled apologetically, "Here again, tomorrow?"

"Sure, Hikari." Asuka smiled, "The Loop won't reset for at least a few months. Longer if we change things up some."

Hikari gave a nod, stood, and not quite bolted for the door.

3  
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A/N: Starting this chapter, I'm just going to leave "Loop Notes" on those which add in some other series or setting. Or I feel like "explaining".

Here we go:

5.b The group is bored, again, and Shinji makes an error in judgement. The Loop hinted at was a "Re~Take" Loop. Shinji didn't have a Life where he was an Angel until then, so he didn't have Angelic Heritage to draw on -like Asuka and Rei- before that Loop. But that makes him "fair game" now.

5.c Start points may vary, the more Loops the greater the likely variation.

5.e It's a sort of epiphany moment.

5.g "Bara" is Japanese for Rose. Yes, _that_ Rose. Merged Loop, anyone? {Crossover with "Fruit Loops"} Silly me, I forgot to tag the "Black Rock Shooter" Loop as a Merged Loop. Feel free to write Black Rock Shooter Loops, or suggest the idea to someone who might enjoy doing so.

5.h To be clear, Hikari is _not_ Awake. She's just noticed the change in Asuka's Presence that comes with all her Loops of experience and having an inactive AT-Field that whispers "_I am Mother, old beyond old_" -though on a level that is below conscious recognition-.


End file.
